When they're not made by an organisation with a fucking mentaler at the helm I'll be interested.

Trip to Mars anyone?

I maintain a very keen interest in the space programmes, and private enterprise has reinvigorated things. Whether he'll get as far as living there I don't know, but I think you're dismissing him very easily there.

Big Blue

I'm still shocked that after over half a century of space exploration the idea of living on a planet within travelling distance of the earth is still considered as a sensible plan. It has been scientifically proven that there are insufficient elements to sustain human life once we get outside the Earth's atmosphere. There are probably other planets capable of sustaining life but by the time anyone got there they'd be in the fifth generation of space travellers, all in-bred and only understand nutrition as NASA paste and re-cycled urine. They wouldn't be able to colonise the new planet.

The stars look nice and twinkle a bit. That's about it. The sun is nice and hot and makes sure we can sustain life on earth. That's it. The only water toleave the earth's atmosphere is that which has been sent into space on one of these folly-missions and not regathered to return (as either urine, exhaled breath or simply unused). People are dying of preventable things on a daily basis, their tribes (for want of a better word, we're all tribal) see the solution as having more children to up the odds of survival as opposed to controlled population growth due to an understanding of medical science yet people are still shooting off into space trying to populate it.

Madness.

Bob Sacamano

I can think of dozens of people who could be safely shot off into space with no detriment to this planet or the galaxy and where 5 years of inbreeding would probably be an improvement.

I'm still shocked that after over half a century of space exploration the idea of living on a planet within travelling distance of the earth is still considered as a sensible plan. It has been scientifically proven that there are insufficient elements to sustain human life once we get outside the Earth's atmosphere. There are probably other planets capable of sustaining life but by the time anyone got there they'd be in the fifth generation of space travellers, all in-bred and only understand nutrition as NASA paste and re-cycled urine. They wouldn't be able to colonise the new planet.

The stars look nice and twinkle a bit. That's about it. The sun is nice and hot and makes sure we can sustain life on earth. That's it. The only water toleave the earth's atmosphere is that which has been sent into space on one of these folly-missions and not regathered to return (as either urine, exhaled breath or simply unused). People are dying of preventable things on a daily basis, their tribes (for want of a better word, we're all tribal) see the solution as having more children to up the odds of survival as opposed to controlled population growth due to an understanding of medical science yet people are still shooting off into space trying to populate it.

Madness.

I won't start the debate about where our financial resources should be spent, that's another kettle of fish. But there is water ice already on the moon and Mars. Small-scale colonisation is possible - I fear your science/chemistry is out of date!

EDIT: Rosetta also showed us that there is free oxygen in comets - our understanding of the solar system is changing all the time. These are exciting times for those of us interesting in the origins of the solar system and understanding thereof. OSIRIS-REx launched last month and will rendezvous with a carbonaceous asteroid in 2018, aiming to bring back a sample directly in 2023.

Re: Tesla, when you get to my age a car that can also double as a defibrillator starts to sound attractive.

That idea has lots of potential - a small jolt if falling asleep, a massive bolt if you drive like a prat, a hair curling dose to the passenger seat if they won't shut up, or to the back seat if they Bluetooth their music through the sound system in the middle of your favourite track.